HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky softball remains at home this weekend after poor weather conditions in Green Bay, Wisconsin, forced a series relocation to Highland Heights. The Norse were originally scheduled to take on Horizon League foe Green Bay on the road on Friday and Saturday, April 20-21, but will now host the Phoenix at Grein Softball Stadium. The series kicks off with a 4 p.m single game on Friday and wraps up with a noon doubleheader on Saturday. Of note for the fans, since Green Bay was the originally designated home team, the Phoenix will have the home side of the scoreboard during the series.
 
LAST TIME OUT: NKU dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Oakland on Wednesday afternoon, falling 5-3 and 3-1 to the Golden Grizzlies. The Norse had a 3-1 lead against Oakland going into the sixth inning thanks to a pair of RBI from Taylor Brummell and one from Sydney Ferrante, but Oakland plated four runs between the final two frames to swing the lead. In the second game, the Norse were in jeopardy of being victim of a no-hitter, but Brummell clubbed a two-out double in the seventh and was driven in by Ava Lawson to deny Chelsea Wiggins of the feat.
 
SEASON NOTABLES: NKU finds itself among the Horizon League's top statistics in several categories. The Norse lead the League in batting average (.291), while ranking third in scoring (4.09 runs per game), ERA (3.99) and slugging percentage (.371). Individually, Sydney Ferrante ranks second in the League and is No. 80 nationally with .91 RBI per game and tops in the nation with seven sacrifice flies. Her .412 batting average is the third-highest in the Horizon League and No. 61 nationally, while her .657 slugging percentage is fourth in the League. Since entering League play, Ava Lawson has stepped up to lead the Norse in batting average (.447), slugging percentage (.816), RBI (14) and home runs (4), ranking in the top-five of Horizon League players in those categories.
 
SCOUTING GREEN BAY: The Phoenix hold an 8-24 record coming into the weekend, but have had more success at the Horizon League level with a 5-5 mark, which is tied for third in the standings. Chyanne Onstad leads the Phoenix at the plate, batting .330 and slugging .519 with 35 hits and 17 RBI. Green Bay primarily uses a staff of three pitchers, with Kayla Schwebke leading the charge with seven of the team's eight wins this year. She holds a 3.88 ERA through 99.1 innings pitched, and has struck out 54 batters while walking 58. All of Green Bay's pitchers have walked more than they have struck out, 162 walks to 112 strikeouts. When the two teams met up a season ago, Green Bay took the series with wins in the first and second matchups before NKU took a 12-4 victory in the series finale.